More than 100 Haitians arrested for illegally entering US after earthquake

[JURIST] The US Customs and Border Protection [official website] has arrested 115 Haitians who have crossed the border illegally since the January 12 earthquake [NYT backgrounder, JURIST news archive], according to Sunday reports. Mark Henry, operations officer for the Border Patrol's Swanton sector [official website], which covers 261 miles of the US-Canada border from New Hampshire through Vermont to New York said that 114 Haitians have been arrested in Vermont [Burlington Free Press report] and one in New York. Many of the Haitians, previously deported from the US and seeking refugee status in Canada, returned to reconnect with remaining relatives in the US after losing family in the earthquake. Additionally, it is suspected that the illegal entrants are returning to the US with hopes that the 18-month Temporary Protected Status (TPS) [JURIST report] will allow them to reestablish themselves and strengthen their case for citizenship. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website] granted TPS and placed a ban on deportation and removal proceedings of Haitian nationals in order to provide a temporary refuge for those already present in the US on January 12, regardless of their immigration status.

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